Missouri will vote on Prop B on November 2. I'll use another rescuer's post to explain the particulars of that proposition:
Prop B will be in addition to current law. Almost all MO commercial breeders are USDA licensed and under ACFA USDA regs apply to them. USDA does not require solid resting surfaces (ACFA does but again this applies to only about 2 % of breeders who will be affected by Prop per numbers given by MoDA). Otherwise, ACFA and USDA regs are pretty much the same and under them it is currently legal to keep dogs caged their entire lives--there is a provision for exercise but all that's required is the breeder have an excercise plan on file from their vet--there is no way for an inspector to know if the dogs are receiving such or not. Also, now "exercise" can be met by housing dogs together as long as each dog has the minimum space (6" taller, wider, longer than the dog) if housed separately. There is nothing in the current law that states the dogs ever have to be let out of their cage. As for dogs housed individually, they need only be given twice the minimum space to meet the exercise requirement and again never have to be let out of their cage. Thus, it is perfectly legal for breeders to keep dogs in wire cages stacked on top of one another their whole lives. Prop B would prohibit wire floors and the stacking of cages. As far as temps, current law states temps shouldn't be below 45 or above 85 during a 4 hour period--no inspector is going to stay 4 hours at a facility so that provision is totally unenforceable. Prop B sets temp max and min without the 4 hour provision. Current law allows dogs to be bred every heat cycle; Prop B would limit such to twice in an 18-month period. Current law states a vet must visit the facility annually; Prop B states the vet must hand check every dog and can't just to a walk-through. Prop B also calls for prompt vet treatment. Also, Prop B creates misdemeanor crimes for violations unlike current regs which have administrative penalties only. I have a letter from USDA stating such (and remember, 98% of these breeders are governed by USDA, not ACFA)---that their only recourse is to revoke a license which takes a minimum of 1 to 3 years. With Prop B people like the Schindlers would be held accountable for neglecting animals; now, nothing is happening to them and their violations have been noted in inspection reports for almost a year.Prop B is expected to pass and will result in more breeders selling off or "voluntarily releasing" their dogs. This is the case with the Schindlers even before the passage of Prop B. An auction catalog of 800+ dogs with Prop B looming is not likely to be seen as favorable to breeders who will already have too many dogs, so these dogs are expected to be obtainable for rescue for a reasonable cost. We could sit by and wait for these dogs to be given away for free but we run the risk that they would instead be euthanized by such sophisticated methods as a brick to the head, starvation or carbon monoxide poisoning. No one wants to see that happen.
Some rescues, such as Best Friends, are opposed to pulling dogs from auction as they believe it encourages breeders to breed more dogs for auction profits. Under the current legislation (pre-Prop B) breeders use these auctions like people use trading card auctions. This is a special case...800+ dogs are just too many to ignore and we have the opportunity to free them now from a life of hardship, torture and worse.
Here's a true horror story to help you understand the "why now?" component: An Amish commercial kennel owner in New York rigged a hose up to a farm engine to euthanize 93 dogs that he had been ordered to have tested and treated for brucellosis. 93 dogs die in Amish breeder’s gas chamber ...
The yoder in this article recently had is day in court. He was ordered to pay $4.50 for each dog he slaughtered. That's a whopping fine of almost $420!
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